1984 Land Rover Series III 4x4 Utility
Registration no. A938 JLJ
Chassis no. SALLBAAG1AA202796

Inspired by the US Army's wartime 'Jeep', developed in haste and intended for short-term, small-scale production, the Land Rover would defy its creators' initial scepticism. Rover bosses the Wilks brothers saw the need for a tough, four-wheel-drive, utility vehicle to serve the needs of the agricultural community in the immediate post-war years, but the Land Rover's runaway success took the company by surprise. The necessity of using corrosion-resistant aluminium panels at a time of severe steel shortage turned into a positive virtue in the Land Rover's sphere of operations, and the use of existing components kept production costs down and cut development time. In the course of more than 60 years in production the supremely versatile Land Rover would prove itself adaptable to innumerable civilian and military roles. Its replacement is keenly anticipated.
The Series III Land Rover was introduced in 1971 and would prove to be one of the longest-lived models. Mechanical changes were relatively few, the major improvements being an all-synchromesh gearbox and a bigger clutch, the most obvious departure from the preceding IIA model being an extensively revised and up-rated interior.
The Land Rover offered here is one of the very last Series IIIs made and was purchased new from Ottons Land Rover, Verwood on 13th January 1984 by Damer Farms Ltd of Martin, Hampshire. With the new 90 model having been introduced in 1983, this Series III was offered at a favourable discount. Ottons' 'leftover' Series IIIs were all offered with a hardtop, but this one was supplied with a truck cab and pick-up arrangement more suited to farm work. Being such a late production Series III, it shared the new 90's rear sidelight and indicator positioning.
The Land Rover was in daily use until 1996 and then stored in a barn on the farm until 2011 when it was purchased by the current vendor. He then sold the vehicle to its second owner, Mr Kevin Gladwin of Nottinghamshire in March 2012. Mr Gladwin owned the Land Rover for four years (covering a mere 18 miles in total) and sold it back to the vendor in 2016. Upon purchase, the vehicle was fitted with a canvas tilt soft-top and inward-facing rear seats (the original truck-cab top is included in the sale).
'A938 JLJ' is a rare and completely un-restored example of a very late Land Rover Series III, with known history from new and having covered some 60,000 miles in total.